Child maltreatment is a significant public health concern. Previous research on factors that influence child maltreatment has focused largely on child and familial characteristics. Emerging research on the etiology of child maltreatment has been examining the way in which neighborhood affects child maltreatment, such as neighborhood structural characteristics and neighborhood social processes. One of the major gaps in the research on the impact of neighborhood on child abuse and neglect is the examination of immigrant families. Following social disorganization theory, this study explored the relationships between neighborhood structural characteristics, neighborhood social processes, and child maltreatment among immigrant families. This study used the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study Wave 1 and Wave 4, and examined a total of 372 foreign-born mothers and their children living in 325 neighborhoods in 20 large U.S. cities.A multilevel structural equation model demonstrated that foreign-born mothers living in neighborhoods with higher levels of negative structural characteristics reported higher levels of physical assault, higher psychological aggression, and higher neglect. Conversely, foreign-born mothers having higher levels of positive social processes reported lower levels of physical assault, lower psychological aggression, and lower neglect. However, neighborhood social processes mediated the relationships between neighborhood structural characteristics and physical assault and psychological aggression among immigrant families, respectively. These results highlight the positive role of neighborhood social processes in reducing child maltreatment among immigrant families, even in disadvantaged neighborhoods. They also suggest that ecological multitier social work interventions that consider immigrants' cultural contexts may deserve attention as possibly effective in reducing maltreatment of children in immigrant families.
Read
